Jaka Tarub was a young man who, as the legend said, would later be the patriach of Central Java's Kingdom of Mataram (1588—1681) through his daughter, Retno Nawangsih. As common with any legends, the story of Jaka Tarub has many versions but the core of the story is the same. This story is written in Babad Tanah Jawi, an old manuscript which chronicles the history of The Kingdom of Mataram.

The legend

It was said that somewhere in Mount Kramat there was a pond where apsaras descended from kahyangan to take a bath.

Jaka Tarub was a young man who lived in a small village. One day, he was hunting for a deer in Mount Kramat but he did not find any deer. While searching fo a deer, he heard the sound of girls laughing. As the place is deep inside the forest, Jaka Tarub wondered why there were girls there. He followed the sound and arrived at a small pond where he saw seven apsaras descended from kahyangan to take a bath. The apsaras looked like young girls and were very beautiful. ... Read more >